Group Buy: Extended front shock towers

[Bazooka]

These seem to have gone out of fashion but I was thinking of them the other day while deciding what to do with the front shock mounts on my Sierra. A while ago there was a bit of talk about front shock towers from a Ford (F250 i think) that will allow longer shocks to be run and also changes the top mounting from pin to eye (depending on your vehicle). These were the cheap alternative to custom made aftermarket items but seemed to be quite unavailable here in Oz.
I have a contact in the USA who should be able to supply these and pretty much anything else 4WD someone may want. Just wanting to know if there might be any interest in these shock towers from others.
This is what they look like for those who do not know what i am talking about. Such a simple design and can be pretty much welded to any chassis on most 4wd's for longer shocks.



Now I must stress I am not our to make money or anything on this deal. I just remember that they were quite hard to get here so am throwing it out to anyone that is thinking of upgrading to longer shocks and is on a tight budget, much like myself. I do not have pricing yet but am waiting for my contact to get back to me. The more people that we can get interested then the more power we have to get a better deal.
Let me know what you think.

Cheers

[Bazooka]

Noone is interested in these?
Suppose they used to be sought after but have been forgotten now. Not even if i can get them for $40 a pair plus shipping?

[zagan]

wouldn't they lower the 4wd?

Rather than lift seeing as the upper point is higher, even with long shocks the fitting point would take up a lot of the overall height you'd end up with.

[just cruizin']

wouldn't they lower the 4wd?

Rather than lift seeing as the upper point is higher, even with long shocks the fitting point would take up a lot of the overall height you'd end up with.

WTF

Allows longer shocks to fit therefore allowing more drop before the shockie limits travel

Problem with ordering more then $1000 or so dollars worth is that you then have to pay duty. Then add freight within OZ and the price goes up further.

[Bazooka]

Problem with ordering more then $1000 or so dollars worth is that you then have to pay duty. Then add freight within OZ and the price goes up further.

Geez, I am not taking about that many!
Maybe just a few pairs for others that may interested. I was only thinking of maybe half a dozen pairs or so, thats all. Im not going to go buying out all of Fords stock or anything. As I have said I have a contact in the USA. He works for a 4WD shop over there and says that they are using these all the time for upgrades to all sorts of 4X4's. He is willing to help me/us out in obtaining these shock towers.
If noone is interested then I will just order a pair for myself and get them sent straight to me. Just thought that if we get a few together it would save a bit on freight all at once.

[Tim D]

Get a price sorted, and seeing your on the coast and i'm feeling lazy with my fabricating, i might get persueded.

Tim D

[just cruizin']

Depending on final costs I may be interested.

[zagan]

wouldn't they lower the 4wd?

Rather than lift seeing as the upper point is higher, even with long shocks the fitting point would take up a lot of the overall height you'd end up with.

WTF

Allows longer shocks to fit therefore allowing more drop before the shockie limits travel

I suppose I was thinking about it in a different way... still, how long would a long shock have to be to get extra drop?

The eye on the shock tower is around 100mm high in that pic.

To me it looks like what they do on Hot rods to get them dropped closer to the ground but keep standard shock height for better handling of bumps etc.

[shorty_f0rty]

id be interested in a pair for the 40... I know Bad_Religion_Au ordered some from the states a while back but haven't heard anything in regards to how that panned out..

if you can give me an idea on cost in AUD excluding delivery (can I pick them up from you on the gold coast?).. I'll let you know..

From what I have read.. these shock towers are a $30 part over in the US.. so it wouldn't be too expensive..

[ausyota]

Yeah I might be interested in a pair but I would need them sent over to WA.

[Bazooka]

Ok guys thats fine. So far I have 6 pairs on the list. I will give it the weekend and then see what numbers I have after that. I will get a price based on this number and let everyone know what we are up for.

Cheers

[bad_religion_au]

id be interested in a pair for the 40... I know Bad_Religion_Au ordered some from the states a while back but haven't heard anything in regards to how that panned out..

if you can give me an idea on cost in AUD excluding delivery (can I pick them up from you on the gold coast?).. I'll let you know..

From what I have read.. these shock towers are a $30 part over in the US.. so it wouldn't be too expensive..

they're a 13 dollar part (9 if you can get them wholesale)

[Gwagensteve]

still, how long would a long shock have to be to get extra drop?

Aaaargh! Ok Steve...calm down.... breathe deeply.....

For a shock to have more travel it must have a longer shaft. For the shaft to be longer, in order for the shock to fully compress, the body if the shock must get longer too.... so the whole shock gets longer.

So.... a 6" travel shock might be 11" long fully compressed, but a 13" travel shock might be 18" long fully compressed.

In the case of going from a 6" travel shock to a 13" travel shock, the mounts would have to come up 7 inches. (18"-11")

Bear in mind that long shocks may not actually give you suspension any more travel if the limiting factor is elsewhere, such as in the spring, links, brakes lines steering etc.

Does this make sense?

(PS it is also possible to lower the bumpstop which has a similar effect but will reduce compression travel) Personally, I like to do both as a lower bumpstop also allows a bigger tyre to fit.

[aussie_stu]

yeah mate, price dependant I'm in

[ofr57]

Get a price sorted, and seeing your on the coast and i'm feeling lazy with my fabricating, i might get persueded.

Tim D

X2

on the goldie to ... would be ok just to pick up?

[Frankenyota]

x3
let us know final prices.

Matt

[Butnuckle]

I'm interested in a pair.

[muckute]

To me it looks like what they do on Hot rods to get them dropped closer to the ground but keep standard shock height for better handling of bumps etc.

As you said if you lower the car this method will allow for a standard length shock to still fit but on the other hand if you fit a longer shock it will allow more travel. Limited by ..

Bear in mind that long shocks may not actually give you suspension any more travel if the limiting factor is elsewhere, such as in the spring, links, brakes lines steering etc

Converting the shock mount won't lower or raise the vehicle on it own unless you are running coilovers as the ride height is generaly set by the springs.

[pulux]

another pair to WA

[noelb1]

I'm in if for a pair they aren't over expensive

[shorty_f0rty]

I forgot to ask.. can you get a part number or can you get a price on this part no for me?
Ford Shock towers:
part number is E5TZ-18183-A

thanks!

[Trusa]

I'm keen for a set also if not too late!!???

[Bazooka]

Ok guys thats 16 pairs in total. I will see what we can get with freight for these and divide it all up between us. I will have to let my guy in the states know this so he can get back to me with a price including freight. Will let you all know as soon as i can.

Cheers

[Bazooka]

Ok now that I have a little more time here is a list of who has put their hand up for these shock towers.

Me
Damo
Tim D
Shorty_forty
ausyota
shane
aussie_stu
ofr57
Frankenyota
Butnuckle
pulux
noelb1
Trusa
Slunnie (two pair)
just cruizin

This makes a total of 16 pairs. I will wait for pricing and let everyone on this list know on here and by PM what it is going to cost each of us.
I thankyou all for expressing your interest. I really was only expecting to get about half a dozen others interested at the most but it looks as though they may be more wanted than I realised.
I have emailed quantities to my contact now so hopefully I should hear back soon. I will update as I hear more.

Thankyou all

[NICK]

i had a pair of these. not to sure what i ended up doing with them.............anyway i just ordered them over the internet and got them about 10 days later. cost just under a 100AUS for the pair to my door.


NICK

[ausyota]

Sorry to be a pain in the ass but I wont need a set anymore.
Change of plans.
Thanks anyway.

[Bazooka]

Hi Nick, I am definately trying to get them under $100 a pair, see what happens I suppose. The first price I got was $30US each but I told him to go back and do better He is checking around a few suppliers and will hopefully get back to me soon with a more reasonable price.
ausyota, bad luck your now locked in, haha. naa its ok mate I will take you off the list, thanks.

[bad_religion_au]

Hi Nick, I am definately trying to get them under $100 a pair, see what happens I suppose. The first price I got was $30US each but I told him to go back and do better He is checking around a few suppliers and will hopefully get back to me soon with a more reasonable price.
ausyota, bad luck your now locked in, haha. naa its ok mate I will take you off the list, thanks.

ford supplies them for 9 bucks each

it's shipping that kiled the deal with mine, but they landed for 65 bucks so i can't complain

[Bazooka]

ford supplies them for 9 bucks each

it's shipping that kiled the deal with mine, but they landed for 65 bucks so i can't complain

$9.86US each to be precise which equates to approx $11.70AUS. Don't get the folks confused with the wrong currency. I have put this to my contact so hopefully we can get to somewhere around this price. Shipping will be expensive yes but hopefully with the numbers we can divide it all up between us and it should work out cheaper overall.

[bad_religion_au]

ford supplies them for 9 bucks each

it's shipping that kiled the deal with mine, but they landed for 65 bucks so i can't complain

$9.86US each to be precise which equates to approx $11.70AUS. Don't get the folks confused with the wrong currency. I have put this to my contact so hopefully we can get to somewhere around this price. Shipping will be expensive yes but hopefully with the numbers we can divide it all up between us and it should work out cheaper overall.

i assumed we were talking US considering you quoted 30 bucks US in the statement i was replying to.